Delta Psi
|birthplace = Columbia University |type = Literary and Social |scope = National |colors = Azure Blue and Old Gold |chapters = 10 |members = 400+ |lifetime = 30,000+ |address = P. O. Box 4633 |city = Chapel Hill |state = North Carolina |country = United States |publication = The Review |symbols = Cross of Tau, Skull and Crossbones, Sword, Key, Eye of Providence |homepage= St. Anthony Hall National Website }} St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall, The Order of St. Anthony, and the Fraternity of Delta Psi (ΔΨ), St. A's or the Hall is a national college literary society at elite colleges in the United States of America. St. Anthony Hall's activities foster the social and intellectual development of its undergraduate members by encouraging individual expression, promoting the exchange of ideas by providing a forum for discussion and presentations. At several of its chapters, St. Anthony Hall hosts public lecture series. The first, or 'Alpha' Chapter was founded at Columbia University on January 17, 1847, which is the feast day of St. Anthony. It has no official religious affiliation. In 1879, Baird's Manual characterized the organization as having "the reputation of being the most secret of all the college societies." References appear in several F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories, Tom Wolfe's novels, and the Order has a distinguished architectural inheritance. History and chapters In 1847, after the organization's 'Alpha' Chapter was founded on January 17 at Columbia University, a 'Beta' Chapter at New York University was also founded, but by 1853 had been 'united' with the Alpha. By 1879, Columbia College's Record listed the NYU founders alongside its own Columbia students. The current undergraduate chapters of St. Anthony Hall, according to its website, are the following: *Alpha: Columbia University, New York, New York *Delta: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *Epsilon: Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut *Iota: Rochester, New York *Theta: Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey *Kappa: Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island *Xi: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina *Phi: University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi *Sigma: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut *Upsilon: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, founded 1860 *Tau: MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts At some universities, the Order of St. Anthony maintains a chapter house colloquially referred to as "The Hall" or "St. A's", although at MIT, the society is known as "The Number Six Club" in reference to that chapter's original founding and residence at No. 6 Louisburg Square in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. According to its national website, St. Anthony Hall originally began as a "fraternity dedicated to the love of education and the well-being of its members." Chapters were founded throughout the Northeast, and extended into the South during the mid-19th century. During the Civil War, formal contact ended between Northern and Southern chapters, though contact was restored between remaining and refounded chapters after the War. The Order's history states that "many members wore their badges into battle, serving with distinction on both sides, and were often reunited in both pleasant and antagonistic situations throughout the war". *See the Baird's Manual excerpt below for a near-contemporary account of the disposition of the chapters following the Civil War. *Archive photo of Civil War officer killed at Gettysburg, who signed his portrait "Yours in Delta Psi". Because their patron, Anthony of Egypt is often depicted with his Tau Cross, the symbol has been used to embellish the architecture of some St. A's chapter houses. St. Anthony also became a swineherd, hence Hall members sentimentally regard the pig, one of the Saint's 'attributes', as an informal mascot. However the fraternity has never had any religious affiliation; the inspiration provided by this ascetic saint (and his pig) is solely thematic. As a hermit and founder of monasticism, Anthony is identified with the "book of nature" and not writing. St. Anthony was the focus of a Roman Catholic Hospital Order which flourished from the 13th to 18th centuries and was responsible for treating the effects of ergot poisoning or St. Anthony's Fire. Today's Alpha chapter is decorated with prints of "The Temptation of St. Anthony" as well as the mythic symbol the "Owl of Minerva". Virginia Glee Club members See also *Collegiate secret societies in North America *http://www.archives.upenn.edu/primdocs/upm/upm7100/1873record.pdf Reference in 1873 volume "University Record (University of Pennsylvania), p. 13, 2nd column, under section "Secret Fraternities", eight unnamed members. *Robbins, Alexandra. Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. Back Bay Books, 2003. ISBN 0-316-73561-2 o References External links *St. Anthony Hall National Website *A photo comparison of William Burges' Tower House and the St. Anthony Hall chapter House of Trinity College (Connecticut), by the architect William Burges. *Trinity College (Epsilon chapter) *Brown University (Kappa Chapter) *University of Mississippi (Phi Chapter) *Yale College (Sigma Chapter) *Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Tau Chapter) *University of North Carolina (Xi Chapter) Category:1847 establishments Category:1860 establishments Category:Fraternities